Periodic Devotions

All the elements in The Periodic Table are made up of atoms. For most of the 19th century, it was thought that atoms were the smallest and most basic building blocks of all matter. And in a sense that is true — each element is made up of one kind of atom. For example, hydrogen…

As I was contemplating what to write for this post, my eyes landed on a banana on my kitchen counter. My first thought? Why is it yellow? Not, what is the chemical reason that bananas turn yellow but, why, out of all the colors in the world is a banana yellow? And then that got…

Hydrogen. The first element of the Periodic Table. Which means it must be pretty fancy and complicated stuff, right? Wrong. Hydrogen isn’t first because it is complicated. Hydrogen is first because it is the simplest. Hydrogen has the simplest formula of all the elements. Each atom of hydrogen contains only one proton and one electron.…

Question: Why does the Periodic Table look the way it does? Why aren’t the rows even? Why are some columns higher than others? I’m glad you asked. A long time ago… (1869 to be exact), in a galaxy not so far away… (technically it was Siberia. Which is a region in Russia. Which is on…

Here’s my hypothesis: The Periodic Table of the Elements is like a foosball table. What do you think? Here’s another: The Periodic Table of the Elements is like the family dinner table. Still scratching your head? Last one: The Periodic Table of the Elements is like a glass-topped professional table in a business conference room.…